The Family Law newsletter provides you with all the latest news, judgments, articles and guidance to ensure you are up to date with the latest developments and their impact on practice.
News
New findings show that FDACs save taxpayers money07 March 2016
The innovative Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs) save taxpayers money by keeping families together and breaking parents’ drug and alcohol problems, according to new evidence published today in a report by the Centre for Justice Innovation.
Commission proposes EU accession to international Convention to fight violence against women04 March 2016
Today (4 March 2016), the European Commission has proposed for the European Union to ratify the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention, a comprehensive international treaty on combatting violence against women and domestic violence.
New research on autistic people’s access to justice in the family courts04 March 2016
Dr Rob George, barrister at Harcourt Chambers and a Lecturer at University College London, along with Dr Anna Remington, a psychologist at the UCL Institute of Education, is undertaking a new research project investigating the experiences of people with autism within the family justice system.
'Rule of law is undermined if people cannot exercise their right to access justice', Law Society tells Bach commission04 March 2016
Cuts to legal aid have undermined the vital role solicitors play in helping people to assert their legal rights, the Law Society of England and Wales told an influential panel tasked with developing new proposals for reforming legal aid.
Court of Protection draft Case Management Pilot published03 March 2016
A pilot Practice Direction has been published in draft, in advance of a case management pilot commencing in the Court of Protection (CoP) in June 2016 to allow practitioners to prepare for a significant change in case management practice.
Inheritance dispute goes to the Supreme Court: Ilott v Mitson
02 March 2016
The animal charities Blue Cross, RSPB and RSPCA in
Ilott v Mitson, a case relating to an inheritance dispute, have been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Articles
Radicalisation cases in the family courts: Part 1: An introductionJo Delahunty QC (
@JoDQC) and Chris Barnes (
@ChrismdBarnes)
07 March 2016
This is the first in a series of articles tracing the development of cases – and case law – in the family courts concerning radicalisation and extremism.
Imputing intention and the family homeMark Pawlowski
07 March 2016
This article seeks to address the question whether it is possible to impute to the parties a common intention to share beneficial ownership in the family home at the acquisition or change of intention stage of establishing a constructive trust in single and joint ownership cases.
Access to the law: time for a big bang?
David Chidgey
04 March 2016
Access to justice has always been on the agenda. Access to the law is different. Don’t citizens of a country have the right to know what the law is? If the law is complex (and it is) shouldn’t citizens have access free of charge to a clear description of the main rules and cases?
A review of financial remedy cases (October 2015 to February 2016)Christopher Sharp QC
04 March 2016
The article continues Christopher’s regular reviews of the more important recent financial remedy cases, this one covering the period from October 2015 to the end of February 2016.
Clerklife: Moving on upNot a Barrister -
@notabarrister04 March 2016
I'd been a clerk now for a little over a year. Most of it I could do standing on my heard; and that was the problem. I was bored. When I'm bored my mind wanders, and that's when I make mistakes.
Choosing a process for financial arrangements in divorce proceedings: what are the options and why do they work?Jo Carr-West -
@jcwlondon02 March 2016
In January I wrote about practical tips for parties facing separation after the Christmas and New Year holidays, and my article in February suggested books that parents could read with children to help them cope with the impact of that January decision to separate. In March, what might those same people be doing?
Online divorce by 2017 - or is the jury still out?Tony Roe -
@TonyRoeDivorce01 March 2016
According to the media today, digital divorces are just a click away. By 2017, couples splitting up will use laptops or mobiles. Really?